Turnabout Labyrinth
by The All Real Numbers Symbol
Summary: AU. When Edgeworth collapses during a trial one day, Phoenix find himself pulled into a plot he didn't expect. Accused of attempting to poison Edgeworth, he and the prosecutor, along with the others, will have to figure who the true culprit is. Surely there must be a way out of this labyrinth...if only they can find it. Complete.
1. Chapter I

**Turnabout Labyrinth**

* * *

**Summary**: When Edgeworth collapses during a trial one day, Phoenix gets pulled into a plot no one could have expected. Surely there must be a way out of this labyrinth...if only they can find it...

**Rating**: T for safety

**Genre**: General/Drama

**[A/N:]** This story idea will not leave me alone. Darn it, I hate when there's not good suffering character! stories and I have to write my own. Oh well. This was inspired by a couple of other fics that I read and everything sort of snowballed from there. I am not trying to plagiarize, this story was simply inspired by those other ones. My summary is kind of bland but I don't want to spoil the plot; I plan to revise it as we go.

**Disclaimer**: _HOLD IT!_ I don't own any Ace Attorney characters. Those belong to Capcom.

* * *

"OBJECTION! I object! Your honor, that evidence has no place in this court. It's irrelevant." Phoenix Wright, defense attorney shouted as he pointed at the prosecutor's desk.

Miles Edgeworth shook his head and gave Phoenix a 'you'll-have-to-do-better-than-that' smile. "Not true, your honor. This scrap of material is a Borginian design rarely sold outside the country. Mr. Whales had visited Borginia shortly before the murder. What's more is that the victim owned a shirt, retrieved by detectives, with a piece of material torn out of it that aligns perfectly to this piece." Edgeworth paused and took a sip from a bottle of water sitting on the desk. "_Res ipso loquitor_." He finished, setting the bottle back down with a hand that trembled slightly.

"I see," The judge said with a nod. "Objection overruled. The evidence shall stand as presented."

_Oh come on,_ Phoenix thought, _this can't right_.

The trial was well into its second day, and it had been a brutal fight so far. The defense and prosecution were locked in a stalemate; and while the prosecution hadn't made any significant advancements, neither had the defense.

And, much to Phoenix's annoyance, every time he brought up a piece of evidence, Edgeworth was ready to explain exactly how it fit into the murder scenario.

_Well, it'll be okay_," Phoenix decided. _We'll get through this_.

"Your honor, the prosecution requests a ten minute recess." Edgeworth spoke up, pressing a hand to his forehead.

"The defense concurs, your honor." Phoenix added.

"Very well." The judge said. "The court will adjourn for a ten minute recess."

Outside the courtroom, Phoenix let out a sigh. Maya came out a moment later and stood next to him. "Nick, we might be in trouble if we can't prove this case soon. Don't we have any evidence that was can use to make the case?"

"I don't know, I'd have to look. Actually, you know this case as well as I do. Will you take a look through the folder and see if there's anything that jumps out at you? Ask Mia if she sees anything, too." Phoenix asked as he turned and began to walk away.

"Sure. But where are you going?"

"To talk to Edgeworth."

He found the prosecuting attorney in the hall of the courthouse, near the vending machines.

"Wright. What do you want?" Edgeworth asked as the thud of a bottle depositing out of the vending machine was heard, followed by the clinking of coins.

"I shouldn't really ask this, because it's better for my case if you're not on top of things, but are you okay? You look pale."

"I have a cold." Edgeworth said, retrieving his bottle of water and change from the machine. He pulled out a small bottle of acetaminophen out of his pocket and shook two tablets out of it as he walked past Phoenix, down to a bench that had been set up nearby. "So I'm sorry to say that my physical health will not interfere in this case. Only evidence will." He finished as he sat down and swallowed the tablets, following them with a water chaser.

"If that was your only hope of winning this case, you'll have to try harder." Edgeworth continued.

"Well, for your information, it wasn't. I was just checking on you."

"Oh," Edgeworth seemed a little surprised by the idea. "Thank you, then."

Phoenix grinned. "What are friends for?"

Edgeworth stood back up, slowly. "We should head back. Recess is almost over."

Phoenix was about to leave, when he remembered something. "Hey, wait."

The prosecutor was almost out the door, but he turned back around and saw the card the defense attorney was holding up. "What is this all about?" Phoenix asked.

"It's a party for Franziska. Her birthday is next week."

"For…Franziska?" Phoenix asked nervously.

"Yes. She didn't have anyone in particular to invite, so I invited a few people." Edgeworth said glibly. "It's going to be a small party, held at my home."

Still uneasy, Phoenix tucked the invitation back in his pocket and followed the other man back out of the room.

* * *

The trial had resumed.

Maya's frantic whispering to Phoenix as they walked back into the courtroom that she had not been able to find anything out of the ordinary in the files was not an encouraging sign, but Phoenix was holding out hope that upon cross-examining the witness, he would be able to prove something.

"Ms. Sons, are you certain that you saw Mr. Whales with the gun?" Phoenix asked the witness.

The large-bosomed lady sighed dramatically; her bosom heaved in commiseration as she began to speak. "I know I saw him with the gun when he came home that Thursday. I saw the case he always keeps his gun in. He had it in his hand when he got out of the car."

"HOLD IT!" Phoenix shouted. "Are you sure it was the gun case you saw, and not, maybe, this briefcase?"

"OBJECTION!" Edgeworth shouted in response. "Your honor, a child could see that the gun case and the briefcase look nothing alike. I must insist that…that…." He trailed off.

Phoenix looked across the room; it's wasn't like Edgeworth to stop so suddenly when he was arguing a claim like that. Edgeworth met his eyes, a look of confusion on his face, and suddenly Phoenix was worried.

Edgeworth was never confused.

He didn't have any more time to ponder it, as a moment later the prosecutor had collapsed on the floor and begun to convulse. "Somebody call an ambulance!" Phoenix shouted as he darted across the room to where his friend lay.

The seizure had stopped by the time he got there, though Edgeworth was still unconscious. Phoenix reached a hand out and laid it on Edgeworth's forehead. The other man was running a high fever.

"This is not just a cold." Phoenix muttered.

* * *

**[A/N:]** Hmmm...Not sure if writing Ace Attorney fic or Ace Attorney/House crossover.

I don't know how I feel about trying to write angst. Ugh. I'm going to tell you upfront that I had only barely gotten into this series when I started writing this fic, so later on you will see that I have basically made an anachronism stew out of this series.

I'm kind of afraid to post this story because I don't know if I'll finish it, but my muse is giving out on me a little, so I thought I would post the first part and get some reviews and see if that would help. I haven't written a multi-chapter fic in so long, though, so I'm worried. I hope i can finish it. Anyway, the inspiration for the title is from the song 'Labyrinth' by the German band Oomph!. _Res ipsa loquitor_ is legalese (I know some legalese, sorry) for 'the thing speaks for itself.'

Anyway, please review!


	2. Chapter II

**Turnabout Labyrinth**

[II]

* * *

The hospital hallway was sterile and depressing. Even the picture Phoenix was sitting across from was done mostly in shades of grey, not to mention the fact that the bench he was sitting on was uncomfortable to boot. Apparently the hospital was trying to drum up business for the local chiropractors.

Maya was pacing around the empty hallway. She stopped pacing and turned to look at him. "Nick, what happened in the courtroom? Was I not paying attention or something?"

Phoenix looked at her for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know." He admitted. "One minute, Edgeworth was fine. The next he was on the floor having a seizure." Phoenix leaned back against the bench. "He said he had a cold, but I don't see how this could be caused by a cold."

Detective Gumshoe joined them a moment later. "Hey guys. I didn't know you were still here."

"Detective!" Maya exclaimed. "Do you know anything?"

He shook his head. "Nah, the doctors wouldn't tell me a thing," He told them. "They did ask me if it was epilepsy, and I knew it wasn't, so I told 'em that."

"Anything else?" Phoenix asked.

"Well, I know that they've got him on medicine to keep him from having another seizure, but that's about it."

A nurse joined them a moment later. "You three are here with a Miles Edgeworth?" She asked.

Phoenix suddenly sat up straight. "We are." He said.

"Mr. Edgeworth is asking for you." She told them.

When the three of them entered the room, Edgeworth was sitting up in bed.

"Mr. Edgeworth!" Gumshoe exclaimed. "Are you alright, sir?"

"For now." The prosecutor replied. "They don't want to release me yet, until they figure out why I had the seizure."

Phoenix gave a relieved grin. "Try to not to have one in court again, okay? You really freaked us out there."

Edgeworth glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "I didn't find it so enjoyable either." He said dryly. "Gumshoe, you'll have to make sure the papers for change of prosecutor get filled out when you get back. I might be here for awhile, and the trial can't wait for me."

"Sure thing, Mr. Edgeworth."

"Good luck Phoenix." Edgeworth said, and Phoenix smiled. Then the prosecutor continued, "You still don't have a hope," and the smile vanished.

"Thanks Edgeworth." Phoenix said dryly.

"You're welcome." Edgeworth said, either ignoring or missing the sarcasm. "And if you don't get back to court soon, the judge might throw your case out."

"Will do." Maya said cheerfully. "We'll let you know how it turns out."

"Please do. I'll be interested to hear it." Edgeworth told her.

"We'll be back later." Phoenix promised, and then the three of them left.

When had gone a little ways down the hall, Gumshoe said, "Well, Mr. Edgeworth seems to be okay."

"Maybe it isn't anything serious." Maya suggested.

"I hope not. Anyway, let's finish this case." Phoenix said. "Now that I know Edgeworth's not gonna die, I have to prove him wrong."

* * *

"Drama at the courthouse." The female reporter on the local news station tossed out her tag line. "This afternoon, during a trial, prosecutor Miles Edgeworth collapsed and suffered a seizure. He was reported to be in stable condition and was transported to a local health center after the incident. Mr. Edgeworth is well-renowned for his prosecuting prowess, but it seems that in this case, he'll have to hand the reins over another prosecutor. Back to you in the studio, Ken."

He smiled as he watched the report. Good.

Everything was off to a good start.

* * *

When the second day of the trial ended, Phoenix went back to his office.

"Aren't we going to go see Mr. Edgeworth?" Maya asked.

"Yeah, but I want to pick up a file first." Phoenix said as he parked his car.

Phoenix unlocked the door and the two of them entered the office. The attorney went to his desk and began rooting around for the file he wanted, while Maya checked the recorded messages on the phone.

"Four new messages," She told Phoenix a moment later as she set her phone message book down. "Two from prospective clients, one that I think was a wrong number but I wrote it down anyways, and one from Larry Butz who wants to know if you're free tonight."

"I should give him a call and let him know I'm not." Phoenix said. Just then the phone rang again, and Phoenix picked up the extension on his desk. "Hello?"

"_Yes, is this Phoenix Wright?"_

"It is. To whom am I speaking?"

"_It's Detective Gumshoe. I just got a call from Mr. Edgeworth."_

Phoenix looked at Maya, even though she couldn't hear the conversation. "What did he say?"

"_Well, I guess they drew blood at the hospital for some tests." _Gumshoe said._ "And the preliminary results came back."_

"And?"

"_There's a foreign substance that they can't identify in his blood. The doctors think that Mr. Edgeworth's been poisoned."_

"I see." Phoenix said slowly.

"_Have you been there yet?" _

"Not since the end of the trial today," Phoenix said. "Maya and I will be on our way over in a few minutes. Thanks for, uh…letting me know what's going on."

"_Sure thing pal. Let Mr. Edgeworth know I'll be there as soon as I get off shift, okay?"_

"Will do."

"_Thanks."_

Phoenix set the phone back down on his desk and turned to Maya. "What happened?" She asked.

"The doctors think that Edgeworth's been poisoned." He told her. "Come on, let's get going. I have some questions for Edgeworth."

* * *

"I can't answer your question," Edgeworth said, "Because I don't know either."

"Did they tell you what the poison was?" Phoenix asked.

"Apparently they can't identify it." Edgeworth told him. "But they think they can still flush it out of my system. If everything goes well, I should be home by day after tomorrow."

"Do the police have any leads on who was responsible?" Maya asked.

"I haven't heard anything from Gumshoe yet, so I don't think so."

And the three talked for a little longer, and when Phoenix and Maya left, there was relief.

It was poison, but it had been caught in time. Everything was going to be okay.

* * *

"Well?"

"It's a little difficult to break into a prosecutor's office."

"I know that, you fool! That's why I gave you that copy of the key. I used to have access to that office, you know." He paused. "Well, tell me what's happened!"

"Well, I administered the poison. Discreetly, of course. I have to admit, I'm very interested in seeing the effects of this poison. I like your choice of a test subject, as well." The other man smiled, though his partner couldn't see it. "He's metabolized with a seizure, and of course, the bloodwork showed a foreign substance. I don't think our lab will be able to match it, though. Not since I broke the other slide they would need to do that."

"You understand the plan?"

"Absolutely. Have a little faith in me."

"This shouldn't be easy, or short, until I shorten it permanently," The first man snarled. "In the meantime, he's got to suffer."

* * *

**[A/N:]** I don't know what I think of this chapter, though plot development always does tend to drag. blaziebla, thanks for the advice. This may just have to be AU. I have so many out-of-context cameos coming up it isn't funny. Does anyone know how story covers work, by the way? Do I have to draw or edit the picture or can I do a screencatch of a YouTube video or something and use that? If you know, please let me know. I'm a bit confused.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, followed, etc. Please review and let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter III

**Turnabout Labyrinth**

* * *

[III]

* * *

"Code green! We have a code green with the patient in room 4077! Patient has suffered a seizure!"

* * *

Detective Gumshoe was a simple man, and he knew it. But he also knew that when it was down to the wire, he was good at his job, and it was that same fervent determination that he turned to the matter at hand; namely, finding out who had poisoned Miles Edgeworth.

"Be careful with that figurine!" He snapped at one of the forensics experts who were sifting through Edgeworth's office, looking for clues as to how the prosecutor had been poisoned.

Because if they could find the means by which the act had been done, in theory, they should be that much closer to figuring out who had done it.

"Sir, we've taken samples of everything." One of the technicians said.

"Alright, Then get everything back to the lab and start analyzing it. I want some answers by tonight, pal!" Gumshoe said.

_Don't worry, Mr. Edgeworth! We'll figure this out!_

* * *

"Yo Phoenix! Over here!"

Phoenix looked around the restaurant for a moment before spotting Larry.

"You're late." Larry said as the defense attorney took a seat to the table. "What kept ya?"

"I had to swing by the hospital before I came here."

"The hospital? Why?"

"Oh, uh, Edgeworth collapsed in court today and seizure. Turns out someone tried to poison him." Phoenix explained.

"Wow. That's some tough luck. Maybe I should go visit Edgey, too."

"You probably have to wait until tomorrow. I think visiting hours are over for the night."

"Alright. I didn't think you were coming tonight, Is that why-" Larry paused. "Someone's phone is ringing."

Phoenix pulled his out of his pocket. "It's me. Sorry, this might be important."

"Like from your client?" Larry asked, but Phoenix was already answering the phone.

"Hello?"

"_Yes, is this Mr. Phoenix Wright?"_

"Yes. To whom am I speaking?"

"_I'm Nurse White of the Los Angeles General Hospital, and I'm calling on behalf of a patient, Miles Edgeworth."_

"What happened?"

"_I'm afraid that Mr. Edgeworth has suffered another seizure." The nurse told him. "We are unable to contact his sister, and he had you listed as his other contact."_

"Alright, I'll be right down. Thank you." Phoenix said, then closed the phone and stood up. "Sorry, Larry, I have to go. Edgeworth just had another seizure."

"So why did they call you?"

"I don't know. Sorry, I have to go."

* * *

It was late; the hospital was quiet. The receptionist at the lobby had hesitated to let him through, but Phoenix had shown her his attorney's badge and she had let him through. Let her draw her own conclusions from what it meant.

He took the elevator to the fourth floor. Ward seven was in the east wing of the hospital, and then he was in room seven.

Edgeworth was awake. "Wright…I didn't expect you to come back."

"Well, what was I supposed to do when I got that phone call?" Phoenix asked.

"How did you get in?"

"I showed them my attorney's badge. They let me through." The lawyer said as he took a seat near the bed. He noticed as he did that Edgeworth's right hand, where the IV tube had been earlier, was bruised and bloodied. The IV was on the other side of the bed now."Are you alright?"

"As well as can be expected." Edge worth replied. "You don't have to stay, Wright. You have a trial in the morning you ought to be preparing for."

"I can stay for a little while." Phoenix said. "So I'll just stay for a little while, if you don't mind."

Edgeworth looked away. "I…would like that."

* * *

The phone rang, and Officer Mike Meekins answered it determinedly. "Hello?"

"_Yes, I have a tip I'd like to report."_ The voice on the other end of the line fairly growled.

Meekins pulled over a notepad. "Okay, what is it?"

"_I saw a defense attorney leave the courthouse today with a bunch of vials that he put in the trunk of his car. I heard someone at the courthouse got poisoned. Maybe you should find this guy and ask him about it."_

"What did he look like?" Meekins asked, scribbling down the information so far.

"_He was wearing a blue suit, and he had spiky brown hair. There was a girl in purple robes with him."_

"Alright. Anything else?"

"No." There was the sound of the dial tone on the other end of the line.

Meekins looked at the paper for a moment before he realized something. "I've got a break in the case! I better tell someone!"

* * *

He hung up the payphone and sighed. Payphones were scarce nowadays. Finding one was nearly as annoying as planting evidence.

But his work was done for the day. He turned and headed down the road. It was a three block walk back to where he had parked his car, and he had a long day in the morning.

* * *

[A/N:] MASH shoutout in there. Sorry, I couldn't help it. Sometimes I just need a number, and that one always works. The chapter lengths kind of vary, and this chapter is kind of short. I'm sorry about that. I'm also sorry if the line breaks in here seem kind of jerky. I don't really have anything to add to change that. When I first started writing this story I did that to avoid writer's block. when I couldn't figure out what one character was going to do next, I would switch to another character and see what they were doing.

Anyway, I want to thank everyone who has reviewed because you have inspired me to keep going on this story! So thank you, and please continue to support me! Reviews are highly appreciated.


	4. Chapter IV

**Turnabout Labyrinth**

* * *

[IV]

* * *

[A/N:] Everyone, thanks for not being mad at me for the different chapter lengths. I've had people complain about it in other stories. Blazibla, you have a good point, please bear with me through this chapter and see the rest of my notes at the bottom of the chapter.

* * *

"Nick, you look like you didn't get any sleep at all last night." Maya said worriedly as she followed her boss into the courthouse.

"I slept." Phoenix replied. "I just didn't have a good night's sleep."

"What happened?"

"I got a phone call last night that Edgeworth had had another seizure last night. He was alright when I got there, and then he got worse later that night. So I ended up staying there overnight. You're not allowed to tell anybody that, either." Phoenix warned her.

"What happened that made him worse?" Maya whispered as they stopped at the elevator and the lawyer pressed the button for it.

Before he could answer, however, someone else spoke up.

"ATTENTION MISTER PHOENIX WRIGHT!"

Both of them, as well as everyone in the near vicinity, covered their ears.

"Why are you using that microphone inside the courthouse?" Phoenix shouted back.

Meekins shrugged. "MISTER PHOENIX WRIGHT, THE DEPARTMENT HAS SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU!"

"I'll answer them! Just turn that thing off!" Phoenix replied. "And I won't answer any questions until you do!" He watched as the officer turned the microphone off and then asked, "Well?"

"We need to examine your car."

Phoenix and Maya looked at each other for a moment before turning back to Meekins. "My car? What for?" Phoenix asked.

"We got a tip that there might be evidence in your car."

"Evidence for what? I have like five cases' worth of evidence in my car."

"Evidence for what happened to Mr. Edgeworth, of course!" Meekins explained.

Phoenix and Maya looked at each other again, and then Maya expressed their understanding of the situation. "Huh?"

* * *

"Mr. Edgeworth? Pssst…Mr. Edgeworth?"

Edgeworth reluctantly opened his eyes and saw Kay Farday grinning at him. He closed his eyes again.

"Mr. Edgeworth! Don't go back to sleep!" She cajoled.

With a sigh – so much for making up for the sleep he had lost last night – Edgeworth opened his eyes again.

"I was worried for a minute there. You were so still I was afraid you were dead!" Kay told him.

"Kay, do you see this machine next to the bed?"

"Yes?"

"Do you hear it beeping, and see how the line on it is moving?"

"Yes."

"That is how you should have known that I was alright. If I wasn't breathing it would be setting off an alarm." Edgeworth explained.

"Ooh."

"How did you know I was here?"

"I talked to Gummy last night and he said you were in the hospital, so I thought I'd come by and see you." Kay told him. "And look!" She rooted around in her bag for a moment and then pulled out a DVD. "I thought you might be bored, so I brought you something to watch. I know you really like this show."

It was a DVD of Season Three of the Steel Samurai show.

Edgeworth considered it for a moment. "Did you bring something to watch it on?"

Kay smiled. "Sure did!" She said, pulling a small laptop out of her bag.

"Very well. I can't promise I'll stay awake for the whole thing, though."

* * *

"What do you mean, evidence in my car? Why would I do anything to Edgeworth?"

Gumshoe rubbed the back of his head. "That's what we're trying to figure out, pal," he told Phoenix. "All I know is we got a call last night and someone said there was evidence related to the case in your car."

Around the precinct, the sounds of quiet working went on.

"You guys can search my car if you want." Phoenix said after a moment. "You won't find anything. At least, nothing pertaining to this incident. And it's not really my car. It's a rental car, and it has to be back by the end of this week."

"Nick, we have to be in court in ten minutes." Maya, who had been sitting nearby, reminded him.

"I'll be in court if you need me, Gumshoe." Phoenix said as he turned away.

"Sure thing pal. Don't worry about it, we'll get this sorted out." Gumshoe promised.

Phoenix nodded and tossed the car keys down onto the desk. Then he left, followed by Maya.

Determined to put the matter out of his mind and do the best job he could for his client (who he firmly believed was innocent,) Phoenix went to court.

But as he argued, from time to time, he wondered how detective Gumshoe was making out with the investigation and how Edgeworth was doing in the hospital.

_This is not fair to my client at all. I can't focus on this case when I'm worried about other things. Maybe I'd better give Apollo a call when we're done…_

In the middle of a witness's testimony, a police officer entered the courtroom. "Mr. Phoenix Wright?"

_This is not going to be good…_ Phoenix thought, exasperated, before he turned to the officer. "Yes?"

"The department has some questions for you pertaining to the poisoning of Mr. Miles Edgeworth."

_Hoo, this is not good._

"Well, erm," The Judge stuttered, looking at Phoenix. "Mr. Wright, how do you explain this?"

"I'm sorry Your Honor, I don't know what the police have found so I don't know how to explain it. The defense requests an early adjournment and an extension of the trial due to extenuating circumstances." Phoenix replied.

The Judge considered it for a moment. "Are there objections from the prosecution?" At the substitute's murmured dissent, the Judge banged his gavel. "The court will recess for the day. Mr. Wright, if you are going to cause such problems for the court in the future, I suggest that you arrange for a substitute for yourself."

"Yes, Your Honor," Phoenix replied. He pulled out his cell phone and handed it Maya. "In my address book you'll find Apollo's number. Call him and tell him I need a favor. Come find me when you're done." Then he turned and followed the police officer out of the courtroom.

To Phoenix's surprise, they went to an interrogation room back in the police station. "Am I being arrested?" Phoenix asked.

"No, not now." The officer replied. "We just have some questions for you. While going through your car, we found this." The officer held up a bag containing a small vial.

Phoenix looked at it, trying to remember which case it could possibly be from. "Okay. I'm sure I have a record of where I picked it up at."

"We certainly hope so, Mr. Wright, because the residue found in this bottle has the same chemical composition as the unidentified substance that was discovered in Miles Edgeworth's blood work."

* * *

The man stopped outside the hospital door and tapped on it. Kay looked up suspiciously. "Who are you?"

Edgeworth had been dozing, but Kay's words had roused him. "He's my doctor, Kay."

The man smiled as he came into the room. "I'm Dr. Hiram Milton. I'm a poison specialist here at this hospital. I'm glad to see you're doing better today, Mr. Edgeworth."

Edgeworth looked away. "I'm terribly sorry about last night."

Kay looked at him curiously but much to Edgeworth's relief, did not ask.

Milton chuckled. "It's a hospital; that sort of thing is to be expected here." The he became serious. "I received a sample from the LAPD and ran it. It matches the substance in your bloodstream, though I have yet to be able to identify the substance."

"Is there a suspect?" Edgeworth asked.

"I don't know." Milton replied. "All they told me was that it was found in the possession of some lawyer.

Feeling sudden suspicion, Edgeworth asked, "Do you know which lawyer"

"He had a weird name…uh, some mythical creature. Phoenix Wright, I think."

_I was afraid you were going to say that._ Edgeworth thought.

"Apparently they were sifting through evidence he had stored and came across it." The doctor said.

_So it could just be that I was poisoned by one of Wright's clients_. Edgeworth considered it for a moment, then shook his head.

It was never this easy.

* * *

[A/N:] Thank you, everyone, for not being too mad at me for varying chapter lengths! I've gotten called out on that before in other fandoms, actually, which is why I was so worried about it. Blaziebla, gomenasai. *bows deeply* At the time I began writing this, I did not know that Phoenix had neither a car nor a license, so I said he had a car, then I learned he didn't, and then I changed it. He's just renting the car. I don't know if this is better or not. Gomenasai!

Franziska will be coming in later on in the story. I don't know that she'll be super important later on, but she is coming. (And she is going to shake people up when she does!) Maiks-heart, don't worry. I don't plan on using too many technical medical terms. (I don't know that many of them!)

Anyway, I hope my tampering with the fandom can be tolerated. thank you for your support so far, and please review and let me know what you think.


	5. Chapter V

**Turnabout Labyrinth**

* * *

[A/N:] Five chapters. Wow. I have not written this much for a fanfiction in a very long time. Thank you all for your support so far!

* * *

[V]

* * *

It had all started with an innocent comment. Maya had come over after court and wanted to watch the Steel Samurai show, so they finished the DVD Kay had brought.

When it was all over, Maya had raved how great the Steel Samurai was. Kay had said, "Well, I think the Jammin' Ninja is better."

Maya's mouth had dropped open. Then she shrieked, "Take that back! Nothing is better than the Steel Samurai!"

It might have come to a fight, the way the two of them were glaring at each other.

"Ahem," A voice interrupted them, and they both turned to look at Edgeworth. "While I admire your zeal, please refrain from fighting in my hospital room."

"Sorry," They both muttered in unison.

Apart from their disagreement over which show was better, the two of them were remarkably alike.

Kay closed her laptop. "I have to get going. Do you want to keep the DVD and laptop?" She asked Edgeworth.

"It doesn't matter to me, Kay."

"I'll leave it here for you, then." She waved. "See you tomorrow, Mr. Edgeworth. It was nice meeting you, Maya."

"It was nice to meet you too, Kay. We should hang out together sometime." Maya said.

"Let's count on it!" Kay said. "Later!" Then she was gone.

No sooner had she gone, then Phoenix entered the room. "Who was that?"

"A friend." Edgeworth replied. "I hear you had some trouble today."

Maya swung around suddenly to face her boss. "What did they police want, Nick? They didn't arrest you, did they?"

"Not yet." Phoenix said as he pulled over a chair and sat down. "They told me not to leave town, though. Maya, there were four glass vial in a stand, and there was a fifth one that was just lying around in the car. Do you remember what case those vials were from?"

Maya considered it for a long moment. "The Wilson case, I guess. I don't know."

"Do you know where the evidence log is? The one I just finished using before I started the new one? I should have a record of that vial if we can find it."

"I know where it is! It's at the agency in the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet under the spare napkins, with my other matagama and the food for Charley. And some of Trucy's props, too, I think."

"So _that's_ what's in the drawer. I was wondering where we put the extra napkins." Phoenix said contemplatively. Then he shook it off. "Anyway, Maya, can you get it for me?"

"Sure thing! I'll go back to the office and see if I can track down the information." Maya said as she stood up. "See you later, Mr. Edgeworth. I hope you feel better soon." Then she was gone.

Edgeworth looked at Phoenix for a moment. "So, have you considered that the perpetrator in this case might be one of your clients?"

"I guess. I mean I hadn't considered it as if that person was the guilty party." Phoenix said. "But I don't know where else the bottles could have come from. Hey, Edgey, you don't think I would actually do this to you, do you?"

"If I thought that, would be trying to help you figure out who the true villain was?" Edgeworth asked. "I don't believe you did this to me, Wright, but I want to know who did, and why. The truth is the most important thing, after all."

Phoenix beamed. "Thanks. I'm going to run down to the cafeteria and get something to eat real fast. I didn't eat lunch today. Do you want anything?"

"Tea, if they have any. I don't think I've had a good cup of tea since I got here."

"Alright. I'll be right back."

* * *

As Phoenix was paying for the food in the cafeteria, another man came up beside him and set his tray down. "You're Mr. Edgeworth's friend, aren't you?"

"Yes! You're his doctor, um, Hiram Milton, right?" Phoenix asked.

"Indeed. I was just down here getting something to eat." Milton said, "I was held up in the lab 'til a few minutes ago, running tests. You're not sneaking food to your friend, are you?" He asked.

"No, Edgeworth just asked for some tea."

Milton shrugged. "Well, I can't see where that would be harmful." He pointed at the cup of tea Phoenix was holding. "They have lids for those over there, on the other side of the soda machine."

"I was wondering if they had any. Thanks." Phoenix said as he set the cup of tea and his container of food down on the counter and went to get a lid.

He came back a moment later and clicked the lid on as Milton picked up his tray. "I need to be going," The doctor said. "I have rounds to make after this."

"I hope those go well for you." Phoenix said.

"Thank you. It was nice talking with you." Milton said, then he headed out to find a table.

Phoenix took the food back upstairs, and while he ate, he and Edgeworth traded ideas.

"If the vials were really evidence from a case, then the defendant might have gone for revenge."

"Wouldn't he have poisoned you instead of me, though? You would have been his defense attorney." Edgeworth pointed out. "I can't recall prosecuting any cases in the last month that involved poison at all." He took another sip of tea and set the cup back down.

"Maybe…" Phoenix paused and considered the question. "I don't know. I hope Maya can turn up some information for us. I know the vials are evidence, I just don't remember to what."

* * *

Maya hummed as she dug through the bottom drawer and pulled out the most recent evidence log that Phoenix had just finished with.

Since the case should be recent, she decided to start at the back of the book and work towards the front.

For the first few pages, she found nothing. "Let's see… Aha! It was the Wilson case! And lessee… he was a science teacher…um…something about a drug ring, using chemicals stolen from the college to manufacture drugs… part of the evidence was four vials! I gotta tell Phoenix!"

* * *

Edgeworth set the nearly-empty cup of tea back on the bedside table and curled up on the hospital bed.

"Are you alright, Edgeworth?" Phoenix, who was just finishing his meal, asked.

"I don't feel well." Edgeworth muttered.

"Do you need anything?"

"Nnnnnngh…"

Not a good sign, Phoenix realized as he set his plate down on the floor next to his chair and stood up. Before he got any farther, Edgeworth reached out and seized the basin sitting on the table and vomited into it.

Phoenix was at his side almost instantly, and that was when he noticed something.

_It's red. He's vomiting blood._

_This is bad._

He pressed the buzzer next to the bed to call for a nurse, and tried to help Edgeworth.

There wasn't much he could do, he realized, as the prosecutor threw up again, that he could do. He pressed the buzzer again and held it longer. "Nurse! Nurse!"

Then someone came to help, and the room was swarming with activity.

"What's wrong?" it was Milton, who had come into the room after the nurses.

Phoenix just shrugged and pointed to Edgeworth, who was now coughing.

One of the nurses came over to Phoenix. "We're going to need you to leave now sir."

"Hold it!" In between a bout of coughing, Edgeworth thrust a clipboard at him and gasped, "Read it."

Phoenix skimmed the document. "They want to do surgery to stop the internal bleeding."

Looking haggard, Edgeworth took the clipboard back from him and signed it, his hand shaking as he did.

"Sir, we need you to leave now." The nurse said, and this time she wouldn't take no for an answer, as she began escorting Phoenix out.

"Call Dr. Chase." Milton ordered, then noticed the cup on the bedside table.

"What's this?" He asked one of the nurse's.

The nurse shrugged. "It's the patient's, Doctor." He said.

Milton looked at the liquid left in the bottom of the cup. "Someone take this back to my office. I want it tested. Where's Dr. Chase?"

* * *

When Edgeworth was finally taken to surgery, Milton went back to his office. One of the orderlies had brought the tea that was left down.

"Perfect. Now let's see what we can find." He said as he took the cup to the lab.

Within twenty minutes, he had his results. "This…this can't be." He muttered, then picked went to the phone mounted on the wall. "Operator, connect me with the LAPD, please."

* * *

The waiting room was a boring place to spend two hours. At the very least, Phoenix reflected, they could at least keep the magazines up to date.

A man in white scrubs approached him. "You're Phoenix Wright? Here with a patient named Miles Edgeworth?" He said, his Australian accent coloring the words.

"Yes." Phoenix said, suddenly alert. "Are you the surgeon?"

"Yes. I'm Doctor Chase. We've moved him out of surgery. It went well, but the bleeding was…different than what we expected. It wasn't a ruptured organ but more like he had been drinking some caustic fluid."

Phoenix contemplated the information. "Will Edgeworth be alright?"

"He should be. We flushed his organs, so any of that stuff that was left should be gone." Chase said.

_I don't even get this case._ Phoenix realized. _I have no idea what's happening here._

"I see." He said out loud. "Thank you."

Dr. Chase nodded and moved away. As he did, two police officers came into the room. "Mr. Phoenix Wright?" One of them asked.

Suddenly, Phoenix felt apprehensive about where the situation was going to go. "Yes."

"You are under arrest for the attempted murder of Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth."

* * *

Detective Gumshoe raced through the hall of the hospital, ignoring the ire of the nurses he hurried past. This was too important for him to give them any thought.

Room 4077 was quiet and dark. The only sound came from the beeping of a monitor next to the bed.

Gumshoe approached the bed slowly, feeling bad about what he had to do. "Mr. Edgeworth. Mr. Edgeworth, wake up."

The prosecutor was lying in bed, pale as ghost. Different tubes and wires, the aftereffects of the surgery, were still attached to him.

Gumshoe placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently. "Mr. Edgeworth…Mr. Edgeworth, wake up."

Edgeworth started awake, and looked blearily at the detective. "Gumshoe?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"I…I'm really sorry to have to wake you, sir, but I thought you needed to know. Mr. Wright just got arrested – they think he tried to murder you twice."

Edge worth stared at him for a moment, trying to compute the information. "Wright…got…arrested?"

"Yes sir." Gumshoe said miserably.

"Bring me…my clothes."

Gumshoe seemed confused by the request, but he brought the bag containing Edgeworth's clothes and personal items over to the bed. "You're not leaving, are you sir?"

Edgeworth didn't answer, instead he slowly rummaged through the bag until he found a manila envelope containing his personal effects and pulled out his cellphone. He handed the phone to Gumshoe and set the bag on the floor by his bed. "Call Franziska. Tell her I told you to call her. Tell her everything." He finishing, sinking back into the pillows as he did.

"Will do, sir." Gumshoe replied.

* * *

**[A/N:]** I'm sorry this took so long, everyone. I'm getting eaten alive by life right now; this my last semester at my community college before I graduate, and believe me is it keeping me busy. But i want to thank you for your support and ask for you to continue your support!

I'm sorry of the chapter was kind of gross. Now, on to answer some questions, because my sempai Blaziebla is pointing things out to me that I feel should be addressed. Yes, you have a good point about it being the Wright Anything Agency instead of office. I would like to go back and correct that sometime when I have time. Maya's still here mostly because I think she's just a sidekick character for Phoenix and I like her. (We can say she waited to go back to Kurain? Maybe?) Maiks-heart, it's kinda sorta after Apollo Justice.

I am actually not Fillipino; according to my sources, Hiram is supposed to mean 'my brother is exalted.' And Franziska will be in later. Also, I did see that news story about the prosecutors in Texas and it gave me an idea, so I stepped on that idea and posted chapter 4. -_- Yep. And yes, that was a useless cameo of a House Character you saw in this chapter. We'll pretend it wasn't. I had written this far before I began posting the story, so I didn't know then what I know now.

Alright, long note is long. Anyway, thank you all for reading and please review!


	6. Chapter VI

**Turnabout Labyrinth**

* * *

[VI]

* * *

"Well, that didn't go as well as I had hoped."

"Listen, I thought I told you not to fool around with this. Just keep him incapacitated. I want him in one piece when I'm ready to deal with him."

The other man frowned. "Your way is no fun at all. Besides, he's still alive. I got you what you wanted. I just want to see him suffer a little more, that's all. And after what he did to my family – and considering that you are currently in no position to stop me at the moment – I think I'm owed this chance."

"Just don't kill him. I'll be out of here shortly. And I'll take it from there."

* * *

"Kay, Mr. Edgeworth might still be sleeping when you get up there, and if he is, you can't wake him up." Gumshoe warned the girl sitting in his backseat as he pulled up to the hospital doors. "I really mean it, Kay. If he's asleep, don't wake him up."

"Okay." She agreed. "But why is this so important?"

"Mr. Edgeworth didn't exactly have a good night last night, so he needs to sleep a lot today to make up for it." Gumshoe admitted.

"Alright! I'll make sure no one bothers him, then." Kay agreed as she opened the door and stepped out of the car. "Thanks for the ride, Gummy!"

"Sure thing, Kay. Remember what I said."

"I will." Kay said, and then she closed the car door and was gone.

Gumshoe continued on his way to the precinct, but halfway there, another thought occurred to him, and he started to head to the courthouse. He had been unable to call Ms. Von Karma last night, and he wanted some help to sort the matter out, without having to bother Mr. Edgeworth again.

He felt bad enough for having to do it the first time.

Gumshoe pulled up to the courthouse and hurried inside, relieved to see that he had not missed the person he was looking for. "Mr. Gavin!"

The rockstar - prosecutor, who had been on his way to the elevator, turned. "Yes, Herr Detective?"

Gumshoe held out the phone. "Umm, sir, I was wondering if you can help me. This phone is in another language and I need it set back to English."

Klavier took off his sunglasses and looked at the phone. "Of course." He took the phone from Gumshoe and started looking through it. "This will be easy. It's in German. Whose phone is this, Herr Detective?"

"It's Mr. Edgeworth's, sir. He gave me instructions to make a call from this phone, but I couldn't because I couldn't read anything in it."

"There. All set." Klavier said, handing the phone back. "How is Herr Edgeworth?"

"He was in bad shape last night." Gumshoe admitted. "But keep it quiet, ok? I don't think too many around here know how bad it is."

"I will keep it quiet. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help." Klavier told him.

"Will do. Thanks for the help, sir!"

* * *

Kay sat by the hospital bed, her legs draped over the side of the chair. It was a little larger than normal, but by no means more comfortable.

Edgeworth was still asleep. He'd been sleeping since she had arrived.

"I hope you're not having any nightmares. I had those after my Dad died." She admitted. "And I always hated them."

She pondered the thought for a moment. Then she was reminded of a song, and quietly began to sing.

* * *

"_Not guilty."_

_The judge's verdict rang out, and Edgeworth felt the impulse to jump for joy. He restrained himself, however, and allowed himself only a smile._

_His first win, a decisive one. And he had caught the prosecutor using forged evidence, to boot._

_He was still smiling as he congratulated his client, now free, and left the defendant's lobby._

_His father was waiting for him outside._

"_Miles, I am so proud of you!" Gregory Edgeworth said as he hugged his son. "I couldn't have done half as well. And at twenty! You have a great career ahead of you, son."_

_Edgeworth smiled and buried his face in his father's jacket. "I learned from the best."_

_His father pulled away a moment later. "Let's go get some dinner. We should celebrate your first victory."_

_They walked to the elevator, one of the bailiffs joining them as they did. Edgeworth pressed the button for the elevator and they waited for it to arrive._

"_**Sweet dreams are made of this. Who am I to disagree?"**_

_The elevator arrived, and the three men stepped inside. The doors closed and they began their descent._

"_**Travelled the world and the seven seas. Everybody's looking for something."**_

_An earthquake struck a moment later, rattling the occupants of the elevator around before the sounds of rubble collapsing became deafening and the lights went out._

"_**Some of them want to use you..."**_

_Miles was thrown to the floor, as were the bailiff and Gregory Edgeworth._

_And they were trapped. For too long._

"_**Some of them want to get used by you."**_

_It was getting harder to breathe…_

_And the bailiff was attacking his father. Miles groped in the darkness, until his fingers came across something cold and hard._

_The bailiff's gun. "Father!" He gasped, and threw the weapon in the direction as hard as he could._

_And the noise of the scuffle went silent…_

"_**Some of them want to abuse you…"**_

_Miles sank to the floor, darkness crowding his vision. As he lost consciousness, he heard the elevator door slide open._

"_**Some of them want to be abused."**_

_Manfred von Karma stood there, a manic grin on his face, pointing a gun down at him. "You'll regret that you ruined my perfect record." He told Miles._

_And a shot rang out._

* * *

Edgeworth opened his eyes. For a moment, he couldn't remember what had happened, then it come back to him. He was still in the hospital, and Gumshoe had said something about something that had happened to Phoenix.

Phoenix had been arrested for attempted murder, he remembered a moment later.

He looked around the room. The only person present was Kay, who was playing with Little Thief and hadn't noticed yet that he was awake.

"Kay," He said quietly.

She looked up from Little Thief, surprised. "Mr. Edgeworth! You're awake!"

"How long have you been here, Kay?"

"Umm…" She looked at the clock. "I've been here for about a half an hour I guess. Maybe more." Noticing his confused look, she told him, "Gummy told me not to wake you up when I got here."

_I should keep this in mind for the detective's next salary review._ Edgeworth thought. He said, "Kay, where is Phoenix Wright?"

"Your friend? Gummy said he was arrested last night." Kay told him.

"Do you have a cell phone?"

"Yes."

"May I make a phone call?"

"You don't even have to ask." Kay said as she put Little Thief away and pulled her cell phone out of her bag. "Do you need Gummy's number?"

"No." Edgeworth replied as he punched in his own phone number.

* * *

Gumshoe was writing a report when, out of nowhere, he heard the theme song of the Steel Samurai Show.

He dug around his desk until he found the source of the noise, then flipped Edgeworth's phone open. "Hello?"

"_Detective Gumshoe, have you called Franziska yet?"_

"Yes sir, Mr. Edgeworth! She said would be in as soon as she could. She said she was out of state, sir."

"_I know. Is Wright still in jail?"_

"Yes sir." Gumshoe replied miserably. "They say he tried to poison you twice."

"_How?"_

"They found a vial with a currently undetermined substance in it, and then they found axertic acid in the tea he brought you yesterday."

"_The tea he brought me from the cafeteria?"_

"Yes."

"_How do they know that he was the one who put the acid in the tea?"_

"Well, no one else at the hospital has presented with your symptoms and the ones who have been sick have been ruled out as some other cause."

"_And this is enough evidence to hold him? Never mind, of course it is. Detective, keep me updated on this case. And when you come by, bring my phone with you."_

"Will do, sir."

Back in the hospital, Edgeworth gave Kay her phone back. "Kay, Wright would not poison me." He told her.

"So this means you have to investigate, right?" Kay asked. "And you're gonna do the *shwick* thing?"

"It's called logic, Kay, and yes I am going to use logic to solve this, though admittedly it would be easier if I was not currently confined to this hospital."

"Alright, count me in!" Kay said as she raised her fist. "I'll do whatever I can to help you, Mr. Edgeworth!"

"Thank you, Kay." He said and then paused.

"Mr. Edgeworth?" She asked. "Are you alright?...Mr. Edgeworth…?" She trailed off. The prosecutor was looking straight ahead, not seeing her at all. He wasn't moving either.

As Kay tried to determine whether she should stay with Mr. Edgeworth or leave and call a nurse, he suddenly started to speak again. "Thank you, Kay. We should…why are you staring at me like that, Kay?"

"You just trailed off in the middle of a sentence, and then you repeated yourself after that." Kay said.

Edgeworth sighed. So much for leaving. "Perhaps you had better go find Dr. Milton."

* * *

**[A/N:]** I blew off homework tonight because I decided I wanted to update my story. I don't know why I did that.

Blazibla, I might be your sempai in term of education, but when it comes to the AA fandom, you are most definitely my sempai. Thank you for your help. EmaWritesFanfics, I'm glad you think Phoenix is in character. But why does no one like Milton?

Anyway, the song used in this chapter is called 'Sweet Dreams are Made of This', originally by Emily Brown, but I guess the version I was listening to was by Sucker Punch, or ont he sucker punch tape, or something like that. I first heard it on an AMV on YouTube called 'Imagica' by Chiikaboom if anyone wants to look it up. Also, look up Objectionable Rhapsody while you're over there. That's a cool video, though they could have put Edgeworth in a little more.

Alright, I'm done rambling now. Please review, and thank you all for your support! It really helps keep me going!


	7. Chapter VII

**Turnabout Labyrinth**

* * *

[VII]

* * *

"It sounds like you've had a petit mal seizure, Mr. Edgeworth." Dr. Robert Chase said as he stood at the foot of the hospital bed in room 4077. "I'm not a poison expert, but I have seen your chart, so if I had to guess, I would say it's another symptom of the poisoning. It may be that the effects of the poison have begun to wear off, so the full seizures you used to have are now less intense."

"Dr. Milton mentioned something about filtering the poison out of my bloodstream." Edge worth pointed out.

Dr. Chase frowned. "Your chart didn't reflect that. I'll ask him about it." He promised.

When he had gone a few minutes later, Kay said, "You didn't ask him about leaving."

"I doubt anyone would let me leave at this point, Kay." Edgeworth told her. "We'll just have to see what we can do from here." He sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead.

"Are you alright, Mr. Edgeworth?"

"I don't think so, Kay. Please go find a nurse."

She nodded and darted out of the room.

Edgeworth leaned back against the pillows. _I do hope this won't be like the other night._

* * *

_~ Two Days Ago ~_

_Phoenix had stayed, and tried to cheer Edgeworth up by relating some stories from some of his more interesting clients._

_After a while, Edgeworth had curled up on his side and closed his eyes._

"_Are you going to sleep?" Phoenix asked._

"_Maybe." Edgeworth admitted, for once not trying to hide his feelings. "I don't feel well."_

_He did look flushed, Phoenix realized, and reached out to place his hand on Edgeworth's forehead. "You're running a fever." A high fever, from what he could tell. "I'll go get the nurse."_

"_Nnngh…"_

"_What's wrong?" Phoenix, instantly alert, asked._

"_Just…call the nurse, please." _

_It was probably the best thing he could do, the defense attorney realized. He turned and was about to leave when another soft sound came from the bed, and he turned back around just in time to realize what was happening and pick up the basin from the table and hand it to Edgeworth just before the other man threw up._

_Phoenix waited there, ignoring Edgeworth' obviously increasing embarrassment, until he was sure the other man was done. Then he took the bucket away, setting it back on the table, and went to find a nurse._

_A pair of nurses showed up minutes after Phoenix left, and took command of the situation. When they left, leaving Edgeworth with new medicine dripping into his IV, Phoenix reappeared._

* * *

"Detective Gumshoe, this isn't right! Come on! You know Nick wouldn't try and hurt Mr. Edgeworth! They're friends!" Maya said.

She had gone straight to the precinct after she had gotten a phone call from Phoenix that morning, from the detention center.

"I'm sorry, pal. I tried to tell the chief that there was no way Mr. Wright would try and hurt Mr. Edgeworth, but he didn't listen to me." Gumshoe said apologetically.

"It's not even really Nick's car! He rented that car! The last person who rented it could have left that vial in there, for all anyone knows! Were there any fingerprints on the vial?"

"We dusted it for prints but we didn't find any."

"See! How can you prove that Nick did it if there were no prints on the vial?" Maya asked.

Gumshoe rubbed his head. "I dunno…but if someone told Mr. Edgeworth that while he was prosecuting them he would probably say something like the lack of prints just proves that the weapon was wiped, or something."

Maya sighed, and seemed to deflate as she did. "You're probably right, Detective. But we've gotta prove that Nick didn't do it! Because we both know he didn't!"

"Sure thing pal! I'll do what I can to help you. Where did the rented car come from?"

"I don't remember. The receipt with the rental store address on it is back at the agency." Maya said. "I'll go find it and call you when I have the address."

"And then I'll talk to the rental place and see what I can find out." Gumshoe said. "We'll get to the bottom of this!"

* * *

"It's true. You were temporarily removed from the anti seizure medication during surgery to keep it from interacting with you anesthesia." Dr. Milton admitted.

"I see." Edgeworth said disdainfully. "Have you determined what I was poisoned with yet?"

"Not yet. The slides were sent out yesterday. I was able to isolate the poison Mr. Wright used on your tea, though."

The crack of a whip echoed through the room, and Milton flinched back as a new voice rang out. "Your slow actions are a disgrace to you profession! If someone is sick, you should be working to help, not dithering around like a fool!"

"I'm glad you made it, Franziska." Edgeworth said.

Quivering, Milton turned around. "M-Ma'am, I-i-I simply must insist that you refrain from using that whip in this hospital."

Franziska glared at him. "I suggest you concern yourself a little more with your work, since if you were doctor worth having my little brother still wouldn't be in this hospital."

Milton looked a bit confused as to why she would call Edgeworth younger when he was clearly older, but he made no comment on the matter. Instead, he said, "Ma'am, I assure you that we are all doing our best to diagnose your brother's illness and-"

"Do better." Franziska interrupted.

Milton left a moment later, looking abashed. Franziska watched him go and then stormed into the room. "Miles Edgeworth, I demand to know the meaning of this."

"Sadly Franziska, your guess is as good as mine." Edgeworth retorted. "But the police are on the wrong trail."

"What makes you say that?"

"They arrested Phoenix Wright."

"So?"

"Franziska, he would not try to poison me. I need you to bail him out of jail for me and then I need you to help us solve this. I'm asking this as a favor to you."

She snorted. "What makes you think I can get him bailed out?"

"You can do anything you decide to do, Franziska, and we both know it. Tell them you're an Interpol agent and you want him released into your custody for further questioning, or something. As a favor to me."

Franziska scowled at him. "Fine, I'll see what I can do. But don't think that just because he's your friend he wouldn't do something like this."

"Thank you, Franziska." Edgeworth replied, leaning back on the bed.

* * *

[A/N:] I'm sorry for the delay. I didn't mean to leave this un-updated for so long, but we were traveling after my graduation. I have officially graduated also, having sat through what was probably the world's longest graduation ceremony. It clocked in at three hours long. Yeah. It was crazy.

Now, time for responses and plugs! Last time I plugged videos, so this time I'll plug stories! First, Crossover-Forever has written an actual House/Ace Attorney Crossover story called 'Turnabout's in the House.' it's pretty interesting so far, so take a peek at it! Also, CRyogenic-maelStr01m wrote an AA oneshot that was very sad. I won't spoil it, but it was sad. It's called 'Goodbye.'

And those are my plugs. CRyogenic-maelStr01m, don't worry, I like long reviews. I'm always happy to get them. :) And, that's really all the notes I have for this time. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and I apologize again for the delay in getting this chapter up.

Please review!

EDIT: Forgot to add this when I posted this morning, but Happy Memorial Day to everyone, especially those who have served and who have family and friends still serving. Thank you for your service!


	8. Chapter VIII

**Turnabout Labyrinth**

* * *

**[VIII]**

* * *

"_You can leave now, Wright. There's no reason for you to stay any longer."_

"_Hold it!" Phoenix retorted, pointing at him. "I've already made arrangements to stay here tonight, so it's too late to complain."_

"_You don't have too." Edgeworth said quietly._

"_I know I don't have too. But that's what friends do." Phoenix told him. "The nurse will be brining my bed in a minute, and I'll be right here tonight if you need me."_

_Edgeworth looked away. "You'll do terribly in your trial tomorrow."_

"_You're welcome, Edgeworth."_

* * *

"We have a late breaking report on a prison break. Today the Los Angeles County Penitentiary was taken by storm by a group of inmate. They attacked and overwhelmed the guards. Riot squads were called in to handle the situation. By the time order was restored, it was determined that seven inmates had escaped custody.

"Three inmates were recaptured this afternoon. Four have not yet been recaptured." On the news screen, pictures of the inmates began to flash. "Police are warning all civilians to be on the lookout, and if you see one of these men, do not attempt to approach them. Retreat to a safe place and call the police."

The couple stood in front of the electronics store watching the news report. "That's strange." The woman said.

"What?" Her companion asked.

"That last picture. That man didn't seem like he could be a criminal."

"Well, some people just surprise you, I guess." He said with a shrug. "Let's get going. We don't want to be late."

* * *

Detective Gumshoe wouldn't have wanted to say that he was anxious, but he made it a point that afternoon to spend as much time as possible working at his desk. His diligence was rewarded; at three o'clock that afternoon, Maya called him and gave him the address of the car rental shop.

It was all the way over on the other side of Los Angeles, on the outskirts of the town. But there was nothing wrong with the place; it was a decent little rental shop.

"Yes sir Mr. Detective," The young man working the counter said, almost tripping over himself in his excitement to help. "We did rent that vehicle to Mr. Wright."

Detective Gumshoe nodded. "Before you loan out the cars, do you clean them up?"

"Yes, we wash them and vacuum the inside."

"Do you make sure to clean things like the luggage compartment?"

"Yes sir. We make sure the car is thoroughly cleaned before we rent it out again."

"So then you would have remembered finding something like a vial of liquid in it?"

"I'm sure I would. We find a lot of weird things in the cars sometimes, but we've never found a vial of any kind before, so I'm sure I would remember that." The man replied.

"Alright, thanks pal. We'll be in touch if we need any more information." Gumshoe said.

* * *

Franziska was not in a good mood when she made it back to the courthouse. She had stopped by her house long enough to drop her luggage off and take a shower, but there was work to do, so though she would have liked some time to relax, she ignored the urge and after dressing and drying her hair, she took a meal bar from her cupboard and grabbed her whip, then got back in her car and went back to her office in the courthouse.

Once there, she called the precinct. "Someone get Scruffy on the phone now!" She demanded.

"We…We can't do that, Prosecutor Von Karma. Detective Gumshoe is out on a lead pertaining to the poisoning case." The poor secretary on the other end of the line told her nervously.

There was no need to specify which poisoning; the whole courthouse knew about Edgeworth's case.

"Then when he gets in, you have him call me." Franziska ordered, then continued. "Where is Phoenix Wright? I know he was arrested today."

"He-He's in interrogation. The chief of police is speaking with him now." The secretary blurted out.

"Which interrogation room?"

"Number 2, I think…"

"Alright, thanks." Franziska said, then slammed the phone down and headed out the door.

Her brother was a stupid fool, but he was also sick at the moment, so she would humor him. Besides, if Wright really was behind the poisoning, Franziska was going to have choice words with him, and it would be hard to do that if Wright was already in jail.

For starters, the guards usually tried to take her whip away when she visited prisoners.

* * *

Maya returned to the hospital later that afternoon, trying to hide her depression. As it turned out, she didn't have too; Edgeworth interrogated her almost as soon as she arrived.

Kay had already left, so Maya told her story to Edgeworth, including what she had heard from detective Gumshoe about the rental agency's information.

She was still explaining things when the door opened and Phoenix walked in.

"Nick!" Maya exclaimed as she jumped up to greet him. "What happened? How did you get out?"

"Franziska von Karma bailed me out…by threatening the chief of police that she would have him arrested for interfering in the work of in Interpol agent if he didn't…among other things." Phoenix said as he entered the room and slumped down into a chair. "I talked to Gumshoe before I came, and he told me that he'd gone to the car rental place. He didn't find anything, though."

"Maya told me she had talked to Detective Gumshoe." Edgeworth said. "But I don't see a correlation between the bits of evidence that keep turning up."

"And if we don't figure something out fast," Maya said glumly. "Nick's gonna go to jail for murder."

* * *

None of the evidence was being much help.

Detective Gumshoe sighed and set the case file back down on his desk. There must be something that they had missed. But what?

He left the precinct and walked back to the courthouse. It was a very short walk. Once he was there, he went to Edgeworth's office and let himself in.

Since he had been supervising the investigation, he hadn't let the lab techs make a mess out of everything. Still, there were things to straighten up, and so after he did that, he sat down on the couch and looked at the law books.

It didn't make sense, he mused, to say that Phoenix would try and poison Mr. Edgeworth. They were friends, and that was not how friends treated each other. The defendant in the case Mr. Edgeworth had been prosecuting when he first collapsed had been ruled out; he had never even seen Mr. Edgeworth until his trial, and the prosecutor had collapsed on the first day, so there wasn't much time for him to have done anything. And the defendant from the case before that was in jail.

He hadn't sent anyone to investigate Mr. Edgeworth's house yet, either. It made more sense to him to think that the prosecutor had been poisoned in his own office. After all, the courthouse was a public building. People could more easily get into and out of it.

But Edgeworth always locked his office when he left, so how would a poisoner get in?

He pulled out his phone and dial Maya's number. _"Hello?"_

"It's Detective Gumshoe. I need you help if you have a minute." Gumshoe replied.

"_Sure!"_

"You go lots of places with Mr. Wright, don't you? Do you remember the last time he was in Mr. Edgeworth's office?"

"_It was the day before the trial began."_

Gumshoe winced. So much for ruling out Phoenix based on the last time he had stopped by Edgeworth's office. "Alright, thanks pal." Gumshoe said, and then closed his phone and leaned back, looking at the law books on the top shelf.

_If I was going to poison Mr. Edgeworth, how would I do it?_

_In his food?_

And then Gumshoe sat up straight. In his tea!

The detective got to his feet and went to the desk. Mr. Edgeworth had a teapot and cups in his office. The forensics team hadn't looked through the drawers in any great detail. He pulled open the top one and found two tins of tea leaves.

Mindful that there might be fingerprints on them, he pulled on a pair of plastic gloves and then pulled out both tins and set them on the desk.

One tin still looked like it was brand new, but closer inspection revealed the seal had been broken. Gumshoe pulled the lid off and found that the tin was about three-quarters full. The other tin was nearly empty; there was less than an eighth of that tin left.

The nearly empty one smelled just like the tea Mr. Edgeworth always drank. _His usual brand,_ Gumshoe thought, and went on to the second tin. This one was a flavored tea, but underneath the flavor, there was something that tasted off about it, some bitter flavor that didn't fit in.

He could smell it when he opened the tin.

"It was the tea!"

* * *

**[A/N:]** This chapter went slow, until the end when it went fast. I am hoping the pace of the story pick up from here, because I think it's all downhill from here. Virtual cookies to Blaziebla, whose review made me laugh out loud when s/he cheered for Franziska whipping Milton. I couldn't find a good way to fit Lang into this, which was a bit of a shame because I wanted to give him a cameo. He will be mentioned in a throwaway line by one of the villains somewhere in Chapter Ten, though.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, and please review!


	9. Chapter IX

**Turnabout Labyrinth**

* * *

**[IX]**

* * *

"I don't think I've ever seen you without a barrier between us." The man said with a smirk. "Nice to finally meet you…face to face, that is."

"Don't be clever," His companion growled. "Have you gotten everything sorted out?"

"Yes," He gave a half-fake sigh. "He's tenacious, though. I'll almost miss hearing about him running an investigation from his hospital bed. Almost."

"And?"

"I'll give him the next dose today. When they see the effects of this, I expect his little posse will have fits. Pun not intended, of course."

* * *

A very somber group gathered that morning in Room 4077. Even the atmosphere was heavy.

Finally, Edgeworth broke the silence. "I would like to point out that no matter what shape this case seems to be in, moping about it will bring us no closer to solving it."

Franziska bristled. "I am not moping! I am thinking deeply about this case!"

"Isn't it rude to yell at someone who's in a hospital?" Kay asked.

Franziska muttered something under her breath, and went back to brooding.

"None of the evidence in this case makes sense." Maya finally ventured.

"We don't have much evidence, do we?" Kay asked. "What do we have?"

"The tea that Nick bought that turned up with the acid in it, the anonymous tip that was phoned in to Mike Meekins, and the vial found in Nick's car, which connects to what Meekins was told." Maya said. "And…that's really it."

"We definitely don't have enough evidence yet." Phoenix said. "We need to find out how the poison was administered." He sighed. "I'm glad Trucy's not here to see this."

"Who's Trucy?" Kay asked.

"My daughter. She's away on a school trip for two weeks. I hope she hasn't watched any news."

Just then, the door was flung open and Gumshoe burst into the room. "I have an important question for Mr. Wright!" He exclaimed and looked at the defense attorney. "Do you know where Mr. Edgeworth keeps the tea in his office?"

Phoenix looked confused. "Um…is this important?"

"Yes! It's really important, pal, so please answer the question."

Phoenix considered it, still looking confused. "Umm…I don't know. Under the cabinet his tea set sits on?"

Gumshoe grinned. "Nope. Try again."

"I don't know. Come on Gumshoe, tell me why this is important."

"Because I was poisoned by way of my tea, wasn't I?" Edgeworth guessed. "That's the only reason you'd burst in asking about it."

Gumshoe nodded. "It's true. The analysis of the tea leaves came back from the labs a few minutes before I got here, sir. The tea leaves in one of the cans of tea you had were poisoned."

"Why wasn't this discovered earlier?" Franziska demanded.

Gumshoe shook his head. "I dunno. It could be because the one can didn't look like it had been opened, even though it had. The forensics team might have missed it because they thought it wasn't open."

"Are you having it tested for fingerprints?" Edgeworth asked.

"Already did, Mr. Edgeworth. There were your fingerprints on it and an unidentifiable set."

"That's a good thing, right?" Kay asked, looking at the others.

"It means a decent defense attorney could break up a case against Phoenix Wright." Franziska admitted grudgingly. "A jury would probably find that he didn't poison Miles."

"And the good news is that I have a decent defense attorney working for me." Phoenix said.

"But we're still no closer to solving this." Maya said. "We have proof Nick didn't do it, but do we have any idea who did?"

There was a long pause, then Phoenix spoke again. "We're still missing too much evidence."

Edgeworth looked at Gumshoe. "Was there anything else that seemed out of place in my office?"

Gumshoe shook his head. "Not a thing. Whoever did this was very clever about it sir!"

"I think I have been aware of that for a little while now, Gumshoe, thank you." Edgeworth said dryly. "That will be all, thank you."

The detective grinned and saluted. "You got it Mr. Edgeworth. I'll go back to the precinct and see what else has turned up." He said, and then left.

Franziska scowled. "Scruffy McTrench Coat will miss something." She said as she stood up. "I'll go back with him and make sure he doesn't. Hey Scruffy! Wait up!"

Phoenix watched her go, then said, "I'm glad Apollo doesn't have to face her yet. I'd like to be there to watch when those two meet for the first time."

"She'd probably whip him black and blue." Maya agreed.

"Who's Apollo?" Kay asked, confused.

"Apollo Justice is the lawyer I mentioned who works for me." Phoenix explained. "When the police started to interrogate me, I had Maya call him in to take over for me."

Maya giggled. "I can't imagine what he would have done if faced with Godot."

"I wonder whatever happened to him." Phoenix mused.

Edgeworth spoke up. "He was given a two year commuted sentence for tampering with a crime scene. He's not eligible to be rehired by the Prosecutor's office for another eight months. He was found not guilty of murder on the grounds that he only killed Misty Fey to protect Maya."

A nurse entered the room with a needle of liquid that she injected into Edgeworth's IV. When she had gone, Kay asked, "What does Godot do in trials?"

"Spits coffee into your face." Phoenix replied. "Or throws it at your head." He finished as he stood up and looked at Edgeworth. "Maya and I will go back and make sure that Franziska doesn't give Gumshoe too hard of a time."

"I'm sure he would appreciate it." Edgeworth replied.

* * *

The phone rang; he picked it up and answered it. "Well? Did you finish it?"

"The nurse just administered the drugs. She doesn't know they were switched. They've figured out it was the tea."

"That's of no importance now. How long?"

"Less than an hour before the drugs kick in."

"Good." He smirked, though his partner couldn't see it.

"Everything is set then…this couldn't be more perfect. Wright won't get away either, even if they know it wasn't the tea. I will have my revenge."

* * *

After Phoenix and Maya left, Kay brought out the computer from where she'd stashed it an procured another Steel Samurai DVD.

"Really, we should be watching Jammin' Ninja right now, but you're sick so we can watch more Steel Samurai, I guess."

Edgeworth didn't comment, and they watched the whole second season.

At the end of the disk, Kay shut the machine off and turned to Edgeworth. "That was pretty good, don't you think?"

Edgeworth appeared to be sleeping and made no response.

Kay quietly put the machine away, but as she was turning to leave, she accidentally bumped a tray off the table, and it clattered to the floor quite loudly.

"Sorry," She squeaked, turning back around, but Edgeworth hadn't stirred.

She stared for a moment. That tray had made enough noise to wake the dead. Kay came closer to the bed. "Mr. Edgeworth? Mr. Edgeworth!

He was breathing, but he wouldn't wake up.

"Nurse! Nurse!"

* * *

**[A/N:]** Ah-hahahaha! Let the finale commence! Blaziebla, I hope that evidence list was ... useful. It was short. And that' how if the case goes to trial, Apollo will blow it apart. Ace Fangirl gets a cookie for making me laugh when I saw her comment. You know, I never thought of it like that. Also, I have found a cool AA fic on AO3 I wanted to share with everyone. It's called For Once by Rosage, and you can find a link to it in the AO3 section of my profile (towards the bottom). It's cute fic about little!Miles and Franziska, so check it out!

_{Spoilers for AA5 here, so if you haven't heard anything about that, skip this paragraph._ I like Edgeworth's new look in AA5, except that in all of the concept art I've seen, his hair is a shade darker. Huh? I want my grey-haired pretty boy prosecutor back! It seems like kind of a random change, too. The color is just one shade different. Does Edgeworth dye his hair now?}

Anyway, thank you everyone who has read and reviewed so far (you know who you are!) And please review this chapter, too!


	10. Chapter X

**Turnabout Labyrinth**

* * *

**[X]**

* * *

The nurse went to call the next of kin.

The file had been tampered with, though she didn't know.

Instead of Franziska being listed as first contact person, Phoenix was listed first instead.

* * *

"Well, everything is all set. You can move whenever you're ready."

The man grinned. "Does Wright know?"

"Oh yes. I changed the file so that he was called first before Ms. Von Karma was."

"Good." He said, satisfied. "When does Wright come to the hospital?"

"He's on a leave of absence from his job, so he comes whenever he wants. If you want to run into him, you're better off hanging around the hospital and waiting for him to show up."

"I think I have enough time for that."

The first man held out a syringe. "This is all you'll need. Just inject it through the IV."

The other man took the syringe and gave an evil smile. "Finally, I'll get my revenge."

"Yes, yes, just get on with it. If I have to field one more phone call from that blasted Interpol agent, I'll go mad. He's threatening to send his own expert over, since I can't seem to do the job."

"Relax Milton. It will all be over by the end of the day."

"I hope so." Hiram Milton said as he leaned back in chair and looked at his partner in crime. "I certainly hope so."

* * *

Franziska did not take the news that her brother was comatose well. For starters, she had not found out from the hospital what had happened, she found out from Phoenix after it had happened.

She stood looking down at the bed her brother slept in. "You should wake up, you fool." She muttered as she sank heavily down into the chair by the bed. Edgeworth didn't stir.

"It's not like you to lie around you and let everyone work around you." Franziska said grudgingly. She was upset, and trying to hide it.

She sat there for a little while longer, and then left the room to talk to the medical staff.

Once she had thoroughly interrogated the nurses and Milton she stormed back to the courthouse and set to work with a ferocity that terrified those around her.

* * *

Gumshoe twiddled nervously with the end of his coat as he sat by Edgeworth's bed. "I've been keeping your office clean, sir, just like you would want. And we're working really hard at trying to find out who did this to you, too. We're going back through all the leads and interrogating everyone who was related to this case in any way. Don't worry sir, we'll get to the bottom of this."

And though Edgeworth remained silent, Gumshoe could imagine what he would say. _"Gumshoe, would you mind keeping it down? I'm trying to sleep here."_

"Sorry sir," Gumshoe said with a little laugh, as though rather then sitting by his boss's sickbed, he had walked in on Edgeworth asleep on the couch in his office after a long day in court.

And he sat there next to Edgeworth for a long time.

* * *

"Don't worry Mr. Edgeworth. We're gonna figure this out. I'm not sure how 'cause you're not really here to help us with your shwick-logic, but we'll do it anyway! I'm sure Mr. Wright will figure something out!" Kay said. "Mr. Wright's on his way to see you, too. I heard it from Maya when I called her earlier."

Kay paused and adjusted herself in the chair so that she was sitting with her legs hanging over the arms of the chair. She glanced at the monitor next to the bed. The line was still moving on it, so Mr. Edgeworth was not dead.

She had wanted to stay yesterday, but Phoenix had made her go home and spend the night there. She had come back to the hospital as soon as she could. After a few moments of silence, Kay spoke again. "You know, I watched this episode of Doctor Who once where the Doctor was all out of sorts after he regenerated, but he woke up and was fine after a cup of tea." There was a long pause as she considered it.

"I don't think it works that way in the real world." She decided after a moment, "But I'm going to go get you some tea anyway, for when you wake up."

And with that, she left.

* * *

Phoenix had just gotten off the fourth floor elevator and was heading for Edgeworth's room. The floor was oddly deserted, with only one nurse on duty at the station.

He went around the corner from the station and to his shock, saw someone he had never expected to see again. "Hey! You're supposed to be in pris-"

He never got to finish his sentence, as Manfred von Karma, grinning like a madman, swung a heavy statuette he had taken from somewhere in the hospital around and hit Phoenix full in the face.

A moment later, Phoenix hit the floor, unconscious.

* * *

When Phoenix came too, the first thing he realized was that his head was killing him. When he opened his eyes, the room was spinning. He tried to move, only to find he that he couldn't.

For a moment, he sat there, eyes closed, trying to piece together the last things he remembered before he woke up here (wherever here happened to be.)

He had left the Agency. He was on his way to the hospital to see Edgeworth. He had seen Kay in the lobby, and she was on her way to the cafeteria. He had come up to the fourth floor and seen…

Phoenix gasped and opened his eyes. "Von Karma!"

Manfred von Karma stepped away from Edgeworth's bed and turned to smile at him.

"What? How? You're supposed to be in prison! Actually, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to be dead!"

"Well there's always an appeal now, isn't there?" Von Karma asked. "Did you really think I would give up on my revenge on the two people who ruined my life?"

Phoenix was tied to a chair, he tugged on the rope. "What did you do to Edgeworth?!" he demanded.

Von Karma raised an eyebrow. "I've cured him." He said with a smirk. "After all, I want to him to wake up. I want him to know who killed him. He can take that message with him to the afterlife. I'd like Gregory Edgeworth to hear it."

"You're insane." Phoenix retorted as he struggled to get free.

"That's what they'll be saying about you after today. Why did famous defense attorney Phoenix Wright go crazy and murder his best friend in cold blood? Why did he turn the gun on himself after he was done? I daresay the news reports will have field day after this afternoon."

Behind von Karma, Edgeworth stirred. He was starting to wake up, Phoenix realized with a sick dread, and willed Edgeworth to keep sleeping, at least long enough to delay von Karma's plan and let someone arrive to see what was going on.

But it was to no avail, as Edgeworth stirred again and lifted a hand to his face. Von Karma turned and smiled maliciously. "I've waited a long time for this."

"Leave him alone, you bastard!" Phoenix shouted.

* * *

"Leave him alone, you bastard!"

The voice was familiar, Edgeworth realized as slowly came back to awareness. But what was Wright doing back here? Had there been a break in the case?

He opened his eyes and the blurry hospital room slowly came into focus. He had had another bad dream…one where von Karma had come back.

Then his vision came into focus and he saw von Karma standing there, and knew his nightmare was real. "Von Karma," He muttered, his voice weak from disuse. Just how long had he been sleeping?

"Welcome back, Edgeworth." Von Karma said. "For the last time. I don't want any misunderstandings about who was the holding the gun this time." He laughed. "Not that I'll personally be holding the gun, you see, but I will have orchestrated this. When you get to the afterlife, you can give your the father the correct information."

Von Karma turned and began sliding Phoenix's chair closer to the bed. "No!" Phoenix exclaimed, planting his feet on the floor to stop the chair from sliding.

Von Karma scowled and slammed the gun upside Phoenix's head, not hard enough to leave a mark but hard enough to daze him again. "I will not have interference." Von Karma growled. "Especially from the likes of you."

* * *

Kay had found the tea in the cafeteria just fine, but she couldn't find a lid for the cup. Eventually she just gave up, paid for the drink and left.

On her way back to the stairs, she spotted a gray-haired man on his way upstairs. There was something about him that made her stomach turn. Something about the hate in his face…

"Kay!" She turned suddenly and saw Gumshoe standing there. Was he off duty at already? "Kay, what are you doing?" Gumshoe asked.

"Gummy…" She looked around for the man, but he had gone. "Gummy, there was a man here earlier. I don't like him." She said. "I'm going to check on Mr. Edgeworth."

"Wait, Kay! What did the man look like?" Gumshoe asked.

She stopped and thought for a moment. "He was wearing a nice suit. He had long gray hair. A cane." She shrugged. "He looked mean."

She continued up the stairs as Gumshoe mulled over the description. A moment later, he straightened up. "I don't like this. I don't think my detective instincts are wrong about this." He spotted a security guard near the door. "Hey!" He shouted, pulling out his badge. "LAPD, pal! I need your help!"

* * *

Von Karma was still fighting with Phoenix when the door swung open again. "Mr. Edgeworth! When you wake up, I have some tea for you." Kay announced as she stepped into the room, and stopped when she saw the gun von Karma was holding.

"Kay, leave. Now." Edgeworth ordered tersely.

"Don't move," Von Karma countered with a growl as he pointed the gun at her.

For a moment, there was a pause. Then Kay held the cup she was holding out. "Would you like some tea?"

"No!" The man snapped. "Put it down!"

"Okay." Kay said as she lowered her arm. Then she suddenly snapped her arm back up and threw the hot liquid in his face.

With a howl of pain Von Karma lunged towards her, firing as he did, but as he was moving forward Kay had already dropped to the ground. Phoenix was the only one who saw her somersault forward until she was behind Von Karma. She got to her knees and aimed a kick at the back of Von Karma's knee, knocked the man forward as she jumped to her feet and swept her scarf out of the way.

The gun had slipped out of Von Karma's hand and slid along the floor. He reached for it, but before he could the door to the room swung open, revealing Gumshoe and two of the hospital security guards. "Nobody move, pal!" Gumshoe exclaimed. "LAPD!"

Von Karma growled and slammed his fist on the floor, realizing that his plan was beyond salvaging.

Phoenix exhaled a breath he didn't know he had been holding and looked at Edgeworth, who looked just as relieved as he did.

It was finally over.

* * *

[A/N:] And thus we learn that some people were right early on in the story. I don't actually have Chapter 11 done yet, so that might be awhile yet. But I expect it to be the last chapter, too. Anyway, I'm sorry for the delay in getting this up here.

Umm... I don't have too much to say this time, so I hope you enjoyed, I'm sorry if the mystery element was weak (mystery isn't one of my strong suits), and please review and let me know what you thought!


	11. Chapter XI

**Turnabout Labyrinth**

* * *

**[XI]**

* * *

It was a relief to be going home.

Edgeworth finished tying his cravat on, then reached for his suit jacket. Manfred von Karma had been returned to jail, and by next Monday Edgeworth expected to be back to work. The poison had been cleared out of his system, as well as the drugs that it had turned out were being used to keep him in a medically induced coma for the past couple of days.

He slipped the jacket and put his cell phone, finally reclaimed from Gumshoe, into his pocket.

An orderly came into the room and began to straighten up near the window.

Edgeworth turned away from the orderly, and a moment later, something collided with the back of his head and the prosecutor collapsed to the floor.

When Edgeworth came back to awareness a few moments later, he was back in the hospital bed. An attempt to sit up alerted him to the fact that he was actually strapped to it. Someone had taken his jacket off, and rolled his right sleeve up above the elbow.

A moment later, Hiram Milton appeared in his line of vision.

"Milton?"

"Hello, Prosecutor Edgeworth." Milton said with a cruel smile as he slid the cart he had brought in with him over to the bed.

"I should have known. The problems with my file, the medically induced coma. Von Karma doesn't know anything about medicine. You were his partner the whole time!" Edgeworth accused.

"Yes, I was. And it's such a pity his plans didn't work out. Now I have to get my hands dirty. Oh well." He finished cheerfully as he snapped on a pair of latex gloves and went through the items on his cart. "Sometimes you just have to do what has to be done." He said as he hung a bag of saline fluid near the bed.

"There's one thing I don't understand." Edgeworth said. "What did I ever do to you?"

Milton pursed his lips. "Now, that just offends me. But I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. It's not like a public prosecutor remembers every case, hm? Well, anyway, let me tell you all about it. You see, my parents died when my brother and I were young. He was left to raise me as best as he could. He fell into a bad crowd, and wound up setting fires for money. One of the fires he set, though, had some casualties with it. He got arrested, and you prosecuted the case. You threw the book at him. He's going to be imprisoned for the rest of his life, thanks to you."

"I think I remember that case." Edgeworth remarked as Milton stuck the IV into his arm. "Brant Milton."

"That would be my brother." Milton acknowledged. "He was the only family I had left, and you took that from me."

"I'm terribly sorry." Edgeworth said acerbically. "Did you not understand his actions? Perhaps I can help you understand this case. For whatever reasons your brother had, he became an arsonist. The only problem was that when he went to set the fire that led to his arrest, he had the wrong house address and what would have otherwise been a case of insurance fraud went very badly for the family that lived there. A young woman and her two small children died in that fire. That young woman's husband was devastated by what happened to his family. He committed suicide after the trial. I'm so sorry I made sure that man got justice for his family. I'm especially sorry that I couldn't put your brother away for that man's death as well, since it was your brother's actions that caused that man to take his own life."

"Shut up!" Milton snapped. "You ruined my life!"

"I believe your anger here is misplaced."

"Von Karma may have messed up, but I won't, I assure you." Milton said as he switched another tube, this one of darker liquid, into the IV. As it began to drip down the tube, he smirked. "I hope the afterlife is kind to you, prosecutor."

"You're not going to get away with this." Edgeworth calmly warned him.

"No one will come now."

"Actually, my ride is coming."

Milton snorted. "I suppose that's true, assuming you mean your ride to the afterlife."

The dark liquid dripped through the IV tube, coming closer to the needle all the time. Milton stepped away from the bed, picking up IV tube wrapping and other miscellaneous stowing them on the cart before coming back to the bed. He watched, pleased, as the dark fluid drip through the tube.

The door to the room was closed, but outside it, the sound of talking drew closer.

"Look, I can drive him home. It's not that big a deal and he did give me his keys."

"I won't be having with such a thing, Phoenix Wright!" A loud voice replied, and then the door to the room slammed open to reveal Franziska von Karma and Phoenix Wright.

Noticing the look of absolute shock on Milton's face, Edgeworth remarked dryly. "I said my ride was coming."

Milton darted forward and shoved Franziska into Phoenix, who caught her before she could hit the ground. The doctor vanished down the hall. "Get back here!" Franziska demanded, taking off after him.

Phoenix raced over to the bed and, noting the dark fluid dripping through the IV, ripped it out of Edgeworth's arm. The prosecutor winced but said nothing.

The needle was not pulled a moment too soon; as it dangled towards the ground, dark liquid began to drip from it.

"What was that all about?" Phoenix asked as he released the straps holding Edgeworth down.

"I finally learned who von Karma was working with."

"I guess." Phoenix replied as he helped the prosecutor sit up. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. You and Franziska got here just in time. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Let's just get the police up here and go home."

Edgeworth couldn't agree more.

* * *

**~ Epilogue ~**

"This is really cool! We're going to get to see Edgeworth's house." Maya said excitedly as the taxi pulled down a long driveway and pulled up to a large house. "It's so big!"

She turned to Phoenix. "I can't Apollo didn't want to come."

Phoenix shrugged. "Well, he already had plans to go out with Klavier Gavin and Ema."

"Do you know where they're going?"

"I guess Klavier invited both of them to some new German restaurant that's opening tonight." Phoenix said as he paid the driver and they exited the taxi.

They rang the doorbell, and a moment later, Edgeworth pulled it open. "Maya, Wright."

"The black really works for you, Edgeworth." Maya said cheerfully as he moved and allowed them to enter the house.

The prosecutor just smirked. "Everyone else is downstairs."

In the fully furnished basement, they found Kay, Detective Gumshoe, Larry Butz, and Franziska.

"Small party." Phoenix noted.

"Well, neither of us enjoys large crowds." Edgeworth replied. "If Klavier, your junior partner, and Ms. Skye had come, it would have been a party of ten."

"Hey, Phoenix, glad you made it!" Larry called, grinning.

Maya went to check out the buffet of light finger foods, and Phoenix dropped his voice and muttered to Edgeworth, "I really can't believe you invited Larry."

Edgeworth sighed, and replied in an undertone, "Admittedly it wasn't one of my saner moments."

"Hey, what are you guys still standing there for?" Larry asked as he stepped between them and put an arm around each of their shoulders. "It's a party! Let's have some fun!"

The crack of a whip interrupted them. "Larry Butz!" Franziska exclaimed. "Where is my punch?"

"Coming right up." Larry replied before darting towards the punchbowl.

"Is he hitting on your sister?" Phoenix asked.

"He better not be." Edgeworth replied darkly.

Kay bounded up to them a moment later. "What are the two of you doing just standing there? Isn't this supposed to be a party! Let's get it started!"

The two lawyers looked at each for a moment and then stepped forward to join the others as the party got underway.

**Fin**

* * *

**[A/N:]** Oh. My. Goodness. Do you all have any idea how long it's been since I've written a multi-chapter story and finished it? It was before I started college, and that was a long time ago. I'm so excited!

I want to give thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, followed, and Favorited this fic, but ESPECIALLY my two best reviewers, AceFangirl and blaziebla/ CRyogenic-MaelStr01m. I loved reading your reviews and you really kept my muse alive. Your enthusiasm for the story made me want to write the next chapter so I could share with you, and for that I deeply thank you. Completing this fic would not have been possible without you and all the rest of my reviewers.

The epilogue didn't quite go as I expected, but I hope you all liked it and it wasn't too weak. As always, reviews are loved and appreciated so please let me know what you thought.

If I write anything else in this fandom, let's meet again, okay? Thanks again to everyone!


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